Railway journal lubricator pump



J. J. HENNESSY 2,639,201

May 19, 1953 RAILWAY JOURNAL LUBRICATOR PUMP Filed Dec. 9, 1949 /6a +2 A 2 5:121: :11: Ti

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Ix? Ken 73x" Q/awref //6/7 /7essy Patented May 19, 1953 RAILWAY JOURNAL LUBRICATOR PUMP James J. Hennessy, Chambersburg, Pa., assignor to Hennessy Lubricator Company, Inc., Chambersburg, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application December 9, 1949, Serial No. 131,975

9 Claims.

The invention relates to the lubrication of railway axle journals and more particularly to a type of lubricator in which the play of the journal crosswise in the box actuates a pump to supply oil from the bottom of the box to the journal.

In an application filed by the present inventor December 7, 1949, Serial No. 131,579, there is disclosed a lubricator pump having a, collapsible body with return check inlet and outlet valves mounted upon an operating lever which is actuated by the play of the journal in the journal box, the lever carrying the pump body and supporting it against the journal.

The present invention has the same general object of constructing a simple, economical, effective lubricator pump, by utilizing a collapsible pump body and by actuating the operating lever by the crosswise play of the journal in the journal box, and has the further objective of requiring a relatively small distance between the journal and the bottom of the box, mounting the pump upon the bottom of the box and swinging a portion of the pump about its mounting to effect the pumping operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, efiective return check valve of a form different from that shown in the above -mentioned application.

These and other detailed objects as they appear from the following description are attained by constructing the pump body in the form of a bellows, with substantially fiat opposite sides pivotally assembled one pair of adjacent edges and connected by flexible pieces of leather-like material, there being means for moving the opposite edges relative to one another by the operating lever to fill the bellows with lubricating fluid from the bellows to the journal.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one form of the invention, Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal section on the vertical, longitudinal center line of a railway axle journal box with associated journal and journal bearing and a lubricant pump and distributor applied thereto.

Figure 2 is in part an end view of the axle and lubricator applied thereto looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in Figure 1, and in part a vertical transverse section taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detailed top view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of the return check valve used to control the passage of lubricant into and out of the pump body. The axle journal is indicated at. A and the hearing at B and axle box C is mounted upon the bearing by means of the usual wedge, not shown, and the pump body D, operating lever E, and distributor F are applied between the journal and the bottom of the box.

A positioning rod l extends along the longitudinal center line of the box bottom wall G and is welded to the box at W. An upright stop 2 straddles rod l and has a lower flange welded to the box at W and has an upper flange extending forwardly and upwardly. A holding clip 3 is welded to the box at W" and is offset from the box wall to extend inwardly and away from the wall, terminating adjacent the forward end of rod l.

The pump body D has a bottom member 4 and an upper member 5. Member 4 is supported by rod l with its side edges opposing the box bottom wall G at points above the lowermost level of the wall. The sides of the pump body are formed of sheets 1, 8, 9 of leather or similar durable oilresistant flexible material and sheet 9 form a hinge-like connection for the right hand ends of members 4 and 5 which are thrust apart at their left hand ends by spring 6. One or more inlet passages ID in bottom member 4 and one or more outlet passages H in top member 5 are provided with return check valves, each consisting of a flat disc 12 (Figure 3), preferably of metal, fitting loosely in a cage formed by crossed staple-like wires [3, anchored in the member.

Pump operating lever E has a fulcrum l4 mounted on a support angle bracket [5 straddling and extending upwardly from rod I with its lower leg inserted beneath the offset portion of clip 3 and thereby retained in position in the box. The actuated arm iii of lever E extends upwardly and forwardly of the box fromfulcrum l4 and has a pivoted terminal I6a arranged to contact with the end of journal A The pump operating arm I! of the lever extends inwardly of the box from fulcrum l4 and is slidably and pivotally connected to the forward edge of pump body bottom member 4, holding it against sto 2 in fixed relation to support bracket l5.

Distributor F comprises an arcuate pad l8 applied to the lower face of journal A and supported against the journal by a plate l9 carried on flat springs 20, resting on the box bottom wall. A tubular conduit 2! has its opposite ends associated with pump top plate 5 and the distributor plate IS. A spring 22 between plate 5 and the upper end of conduit 2| thrusts the upper end of the conduit against the distributor plate and asserts a downward thrust on pump top member. 5. Pre e i s is som wh str r spring 22 so that the parts normally assume the position shown in Figure 1. Preferably conduit 2| is of flexible material and may be shortened or lengthened so as to accommodate the downward movement of pump upper member from the position shown a well as the upward movement of pump lower member 4.

As the. journal. moves to the left from the position shown in Figure 1', lever E elevates pump bottom member 4 and forces fluid in the body through passageway ll into conduit 2|. When the journal moves in the opposite direction and the bottom of the pump body moves towards the bottom of the box lubricant is admitted through passageways lil into the pump body. Eventually the lubricant fills the pump body and conduit 2| and further lubrication of the journal in the box discharges lubricant to the distributor and to the journal face.

The pump bottom and top members 4, 5 may consist of sheets of heavy leather or of more rigid material. The pump body is of substantial width and length and thereby provides adequate capacity under all pumping conditions without requiring as vertical movement of lever arm I1, and without requiring as much space between the journal and the bottom of the box as would be required by a pump body of comparatively small horizontal cross section. The valves l2, 13 are readily applied to the pump walls and, being, of' metal, are not susceptible of becoming inoperative because of deformation which might occur with similar elements formed of leather or similar flexible material.

The details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of those modifications coming within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railway axle journal lubricator, a pump body, comprising a bellows-like structure, there being a support element in fixed relation to one part of saidbellows-like structure, an elongated distributor pad above said structure shaped for application to a journal to be lubricated, a lever fulcrumed upon saidsupport element with one arm connected to one side of the bellows-like structure and with its other arm disposed beyond an end of said pad to be engaged by a portion of the journal above the level of the pump body.

2. In a railway axle journal lubricator pump, a device comprising superimposed substantially flat parts hinged to each other along adjacent edges at one end of said device and movable to and from each other at their edges at the opposite end of said device, flexible sheet material secured to and extending between corresponding edges of said parts, an inlet return check valve in one of said parts, an outlet return check valve in the other of said parts, and means disposed, for contact with a journal to which the device is applied for movingthe latter-mentioned ends of the parts relative to each other, a distributor for lubricant from said device, a conduit from said device to said distributor, a support for said device, and a separate support for said distributor.

3; In a railway axle journal lubricator pump, a bottom member, a top member hinged thereto along sides of the members adjacent one end of the bottom member, yielding means-thrusting the members apart near the opposite endof the bottom member, an inlet passageway in" thebottour member provided with a return check valve,

an outlet passageway in the upper member provided with a return check valve, a pad-like distributor facing away from said members, and a flexible conduit leading from said outlet passageway to said distributor.

4. In a railway axle journal lubricator, a bellows-like structure with stiff sides hinged to each other and having inlet and discharge outlets respectively with return check valves, a flexible conduit associated with the discharge outlet, a distributor pad connected with the structure by said conduit, yielding means thrustingsaid bellows-like structure and distributor pad apart, and means associated with said structure and arranged to be engaged by a portion of the journal to which the lubricator is applied for operating said structure by the movement of the journal relative thereto.

5. In a railway axle journal box lubricator, a pump including a body bottom member disposed to rest upon the bottomof the box to which the lubricator is applied, a body upper member having one edge hingedly connected to one edge of said bottom member,v flexible sides connected to said members, means yieldingly thrusting apart portions of saidmembers spaced from their hinged edges, inlet and outlet passages inv said bottom member and: upper member respectively, each passage being provided with a return check valve, a flexible conduit with one end leading from the outlet passage in said upper member, and a distributor associated. with the other end of said conduit and arranged for application to ajournal, an actuating device for moving said members towards each other against the action of said means and arranged for contact with a journal to which the lubricator is applied;

6. In a railwayaxle journallubricatoma pump body comprising substantially flat parts hinged toeach other along adjacent edges andmovable to and from each other at their opposite edges, flexible sheet material. secured to: and: extending between corresponding edges of said parts, a spring compressed between said parts: near" the edges: opposite their hinged edges. there being an inlet passage in. the lower ofsaid parts and an: outlet passagev in thezupper' of said parts, a flexible conduit with one end leading from said outlet passage, a lubricant distributor at the other'end of sai'dconduit', and aspring thrusting said distributor and said latter-mentioned body member apart.

'I'. In combination; arailway axle journal, a journal. box mounted thereon, an upright stop secured to the bottom of said box nearits inner end and having a forwardly extending flange at its upper end, a bellows-like pump having an elongated wedge-shaped'body; the tapered end of the body being inserted beneath said flange and against said stop, a lever ful'cr-umed tothe journal box near the outerend of the latter and having an arm extending. inwardly ofthexboxl from thelever fulcrum and. connected. to the lower part of said pump body and having an arm extending upwardly from the lever fulcrum andleontacting the end portion of thejournal', a lubricant distributorappliedto the journal above said: pump body, and: a conduit leading: from the upper part of said body to said distributor.

am combination, a;- railway" axle journal; a journal box: mounted thereon and having an' up- Wardly concavedi arcuate lower wall; a; lubricant pump including a flat lower member'with its-side edges supported on said wall; there being inlet passages in said member between its sidev edges,

an upper member hinged to said lower member, said members being connected by flexible material, a lever fulcrumed on said wall and having an arm disposed to contact the end portion of said journal and having another arm disposed to engage one of said members and to move it relative to the other member as said journal moves including a bellows comprising elongated flat, substantially rigid members hinged one to the other and provided with outlet and inlet valves respectively, there being flexible side walls connected 1 along their margins to said members, a spring '1 thrusting said members apart, a lubricant distributor comprising an elongated arcuate pad extending in the same general direction as said members withits upper face composed of fibrous material, a pump lever having a fulcrum, an arm extending therefrom and connected to one of said members and an arm extending from said fulcrum angularly to said first-mentioned arm and hav ing a terminal facing towards an end of said distributor, and an element positioning the lever fulcrum relative to said members.

JAMES J. HENNESSY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 86,421 Lane Feb. 2, 1869 192,924 Luster July 10, 1877 194,010 Stewart Aug. 7, 1877 229,563 Van Eps July 6, 1880 636,594 Votey Nov. 7, 1899 719,654 Ewing Feb. 3, 1903 1,287,618 Benjamin Dec, 17, 1918 1,948,676 Reik Feb. 27, 1934 

